Matthew Ledrew's Blog, page 5
March 4, 2020
Bestselling author Ali House named as a Pulp Sci-Fi from the Rock author!
[image error]Engen Books is proud to reveal that Ali house will be appearing in 2020’s Pulp Sci-Fi from the Rock anthology!
A native Newfoundlander, House is a graduate of the Fine Arts program at Sir Wilfred Grenfell College (MUN). She currently resides in Halifax, Nova Scotia, where she works in arts administration and spends more time than a person should in and around theaters.
Ali is one of only three authors to have been featured in every modern From the Rock volume.
House is an avid traveler and foodie, and uses her adventures for her inspiration when she writes.
In addition to her first novels The Six Elemental and The Fifth Queen, House is a prolific short story writer, with stories appearing in Bluenose Paradox, Unexpected Stories, Dystopia from the Rock, Fantasy from the Rock, Chillers from the Rock, Sci-Fi from the Rock and Gathering Storm Magazine.
A collection of her short fiction, The Lightbulb Forest, was released in February 2020.
House brings with her her short story: ‘Heroics 101.’
One other author will be joining Ali House, Matthew Daniels, Nicole Little, Sherry D. Ramsey, Jeff Slade, Chantal Boudreau, Shannon Green, Jennifer Shelby, Jon Dobbin, Melissa Bishop, Brad Dunne, Corinne Lewandowski, JRH Lawless, Lisa Daly, Andrew Pike, Julie Aubut Gaudet, Daniel Windeler, Alissa Hickox, Andrew McDonald, CS Woodburn and Steve Power for the 2020 Pulp Sci-Fi on the Rock collection! We have established authors, award-winners, bestsellers, and returning From the Rock alumni left to announce! Who will join them? Stay tuned and Never Look Back!
For exclusive content and FREE books, be sure and check out the Engen Books Patreon.
March 1, 2020
Returning Rocker: Matthew Daniels writes for Pulp Sci-Fi from the Rock
Engen Books is proud to announce the triumphant return of author Matthew Daniels to this year’s From the Rock collection, Pulp Sci-Fi from the Rock.
Daniels has been in every From the Rock book thus far. His story ‘Healer’s Hoards’ appeared in 2016’s Sci-Fi from the Rock, ‘Living and Learning’ in 2017’s Fantasy from the Rock, ‘Grow Gold Together’ in 2018’s Chillers from the Rock, ‘Eggshell Revolution’ in 2019’s Dystopia from the Rock, and ‘Rooftop Statistics’ in Flights from the Rock.
In December 2019 he was named a member of the Engen Books Board of Directors.
His first novel, Diary of Knives, is set for a November 2020 release from Engen Books.
His flash fiction also appeared in Kit Sora: The Artobiography under the title ‘Epilogue?’. Daniels has proven himself to be a renaissance man of genre fiction, capable of rising to the occasion of any challenge thrown his way. His short story ‘Where With All’ was featured in the All Borders are Temporary collection by Transnational Arts Production.
As competition over placement in the From the Rock series has improved, so has Daniels steadily grown in his authorial abilities. His newest story is titled ‘Namaily.’
Two other authors will be joining Matthew Daniels, Nicole Little, Sherry D. Ramsey, Jeff Slade, Chantal Boudreau, Shannon Green, Jennifer Shelby, Jon Dobbin, Melissa Bishop, Brad Dunne, Corinne Lewandowski, JRH Lawless, Lisa Daly, Andrew Pike, Julie Aubut Gaudet, Daniel Windeler, Alissa Hickox, Andrew McDonald, CS Woodburn and Steve Power for the 2020 Pulp Sci-Fi on the Rock collection! We have established authors, award-winners, bestsellers, and returning From the Rock alumni left to announce! Who will join them? Stay tuned and Never Look Back!
For exclusive content and FREE books, be sure and check out the Engen Books Patreon.
February 27, 2020
Rocker Nicole Little announced as a Pulp Sci-Fi author!
Engen Books is proud to announce one of the exciting new talents in genre fiction that will be appearing in 2020’s Pulp Sci-Fi from the Rock collection: Nicole Little!
Little has steadily been making her voice heard in the Newfoundland writing scene more and more over the year, making her presence known at competitions as a force to be reckoned with, bringing wit and insight to every conversation she’s a part of!
Through his efforts, Little has proven herself a master of every genre of story we’ve thrown at her, and has earned the affectionate term of Rocker: an author who has been featured in every genre of From the Rock collection.
She has appeared in six anthologies from Australian publisher Black Hare Press, including Eerie Christmas, Apocalypse, Storming Area 51, Monsters, Beyond, and Bad Romance.
Her flash fiction “Sweet Sixteen” won the June 2018 Kit Sora Flash Photography Fiction Prize, and she achieved third in the October 2018 Nightmare on Water Street reading competition. For her talents, Little was one of only a select few gifted authors allowed two entries in the Dystopia from the Rock collection, with her stories “The Market” and “The Last One Standing.” She was one of only three authors to get two stories in Flights from the Rock, with “Far Out” and “On a Wing and a Prayer,” of which the judges said: “These are amazing pieces of fun short fiction with clever twists a their ends!”
Her first-published short story is available for purchase along with many other prize and award-winning authors in Kit Sora: The Artobiography, available now through Engen Books.
Nicole brings with her her new story: ‘Squid Wars.’
Three other authors will be joining Nicole Little, Sherry D. Ramsey, Jeff Slade, Chantal Boudreau, Shannon Green, Jennifer Shelby, Jon Dobbin, Melissa Bishop, Brad Dunne, Corinne Lewandowski, JRH Lawless, Lisa Daly, Andrew Pike, Julie Aubut Gaudet, Daniel Windeler, Alissa Hickox, Andrew McDonald, CS Woodburn and Steve Power for the 2020 Pulp Sci-Fi on the Rock collection! We have established authors, award-winners, bestsellers, and returning From the Rock alumni left to announce! Who will join them? Stay tuned and Never Look Back!
For exclusive content and FREE books, be sure and check out the Engen Books Patreon.
February 24, 2020
Author Sherry D. Ramsey joins Pulp Sci-Fi from the Rock!
Engen Books is proud to reveal the next Pulp Sci-Fi from the Rock author: bestselling speculative fiction author Sherry D. Ramsey, author of the Nearspace series!
Ramsey’s books include One’s Aspect to the Sun (named Speculative Fiction Book of the Year for 2014 by the Book Publishers’ Association of Alberta); a sequel, Dark Beneath the Moon; a new middle grade fantasy, The Seventh Crow; the urban fantasy The Murder Prophet; and To Unimagined Shores–Collected Stories. With her partners at Third Person Press, she has co-edited five anthologies of regional short fiction to date. A member of the Writer’s Federation of Nova Scotia Writer’s Council, Sherry is also a past Vice-President and Secretary-Treasurer of SF Canada, Canada’s national association for Speculative Fiction Professionals.
Sherry is a nervous flyer who lives in Nova Scotia with her husband, children, and dogs. You can visit her online at http://www.sherrydramsey.com, find her on Facebook, and keep up with her on Twitter @sdramsey.
Four other authors will be joining Sherry D. Ramsey, Jeff Slade, Chantal Boudreau, Shannon Green, Jennifer Shelby, Jon Dobbin, Melissa Bishop, Brad Dunne, Corinne Lewandowski, JRH Lawless, Lisa Daly, Andrew Pike, Julie Aubut Gaudet, Daniel Windeler, Alissa Hickox, Andrew McDonald, CS Woodburn and Steve Power for the 2020 Pulp Sci-Fi on the Rock collection! We have established authors, award-winners, bestsellers, and returning From the Rock alumni left to announce! Who will join them? Stay tuned and Never Look Back!
For exclusive content and FREE books, be sure and check out the Engen Books Patreon.
February 21, 2020
Prize-Winning short-story author Jeff Slade returns in ‘Pulp Sci-Fi from the Rock’!
[image error]Engen Books is proud to announce the return of one of its most prolific short story authors: Jeff Slade!
A resident of Salmon Cove, Slade is an avid reader who enjoys both making and hearing puns, playing the guitar, and cats. Slade made his publishing debut in Chillers from the Rock with his chilling tale, The Culling, then went on to win the April 2018 Kit Sora Flash Photography Fiction Prize with his story, Extinguished. He returned in 2019’s Dystopia from the Rock with his story, Anchored, and in 2019’s Flights from the Rock collection with Flight of the Puffin.
Through his efforts, Slade has proven himself a master of every genre of story we’ve thrown at him, and has earned the affectionate term of Rocker: an author who has been featured in every genre of From the Rock collection.
He brings with his his new story, ‘The Daring Mid-flight Heist on the Moonbeam Express.’
His prize-winning short story is available for purchase along with many other prize and award-winning authors in Kit Sora: The Artobiography, available now through Engen Books by clicking the button below.
Kit Sora: The Artobiography
A stunning, hundred-plus page hardcover collection of over 80 of Kit Sora’s most ambitious photographs, paired with short fiction inspired by the art by Canada’s best authorial talents. Includes stories by USA Today Bestselling Author Kate Sparkes, USA Today Bestselling Author Victoria Barbour, and Bestselling Author Amanda Labonté.
C$75.00
Five other authors will be joining Jeff Slade, Chantal Boudreau, Shannon Green, Jennifer Shelby, Jon Dobbin, Melissa Bishop, Brad Dunne, Corinne Lewandowski, JRH Lawless, Lisa Daly, Andrew Pike, Julie Aubut Gaudet, Daniel Windeler, Alissa Hickox, Andrew McDonald, CS Woodburn and Steve Power for the 2020 Pulp Sci-Fi on the Rock collection! We have established authors, award-winners, bestsellers, and returning From the Rock alumni left to announce! Who will join them? Stay tuned and Never Look Back!
For exclusive content and FREE books, be sure and check out the Engen Books Patreon.
February 18, 2020
Writing Challenge | House Blog
Today’s blog post is going to be a bit different. Usually I talk about my experiences writing or bemoan the fact that I always seem to go through a ton of ideas before settling down, but not today, my friends, not today.
(Vaguely interested yet?)
What I wanted to do today was find a writing challenge and see what kind of craziness I could come up with, and then post it here in case anyone else wanted to join in. Xenomorphs versus Klingons? Yoda versus Dumbledore? Zelda versus Link? All of these were entertaining thoughts, but then I realized that I’d missed a step. Before I could write about something, I needed to find a challenge to guide me in how to write it.
Challenges tended to go from the mundane to the complicated (according to the not-very-in-depth online search I’d hastily done this afternoon). Dubious challenges were things like ‘write for ten minutes straight’ (which is something I frequently do when I have inspiration) or ‘write in a different genre’ (which is basically my life) or ‘edit someone else’s work’ (which is been-there-done-that).
Everything I came across wasn’t quite what I was looking for. Fun was what I wanted – I wanted a challenge that would be odd and intriguing. (Guess I could have searched for ‘wacky writing challenges’, but hindsight’s twenty-twenty, eh?) Honestly, I also wanted something that wouldn’t take too much time, since I have a deadline to meet and dishes to wash.
I eventually came across a post about The Alphabet Challenge. (Just as I was wondering if I should give up, actually. Kinda great timing, huh?) Looking at it, it seemed to be the kind of thing I was searching for – interesting, but not too complicated, and hopefully something that could be done in less than an hour.
Mainly, it consisted of picking a letter from the alphabet and writing a story that consisted of twenty-six sentences, the first of which began with that specific letter, and the rest of which began with the following letters. Not that hard to accomplish, right?
Of course, there aren’t any limitations on what the story should be about, so that’s left up to you and your imagination. Perhaps you could pick a random occupation and place and start there, or maybe you could use a world and characters that you’ve created and throw that into a scene, or you could take one of those suggestions from earlier in the post. Quitting because you can’t think of what to write is against the purpose of this exercise, and don’t give up if you can’t think of a word that starts with a certain letter – just try being creative with how you start sentences.
Ready to give it a shot?
Select the letter you want to begin with and let’s go!
_______
Chantal Boudreau announced as a ‘Pulp Sci-Fi from the Rock’ author!
Engen Books is proud to announce one of the exciting new talents in genre fiction that will be appearing in 2020’s Pulp Sci-Fi from the Rock collection: Chantal Boudreau!
A Toronto native currently living in Sambro, Nova Scotia; Boudreau is an avid and prolific author with over fifty credits to her name. She is the author of the Fervor series of novels, as well as the Masters & Renegades series and The Snowy Barrens Trilogy.
Boudreau is likely best known for her work in short fiction, and the anthologies she has appeared in have been shortlisted for both the Bram Stoker award and the Aurora award.
Her extensive short-fiction bibliography includes fantasy, dark fantasy, and horror.
She brings with her her short story ‘A Sticky Situation.’
Six other authors will be joining Chantal Boudreau, Shannon Green, Jennifer Shelby, Jon Dobbin, Melissa Bishop, Brad Dunne, Corinne Lewandowski, JRH Lawless, Lisa Daly, Andrew Pike, Julie Aubut Gaudet, Daniel Windeler, Alissa Hickox, Andrew McDonald, CS Woodburn and Steve Power for the 2020 Pulp Sci-Fi on the Rock collection! We have established authors, award-winners, bestsellers, and returning From the Rock alumni left to announce! Who will join them? Stay tuned and Never Look Back!
For exclusive content and FREE books, be sure and check out the Engen Books Patreon.
February 15, 2020
Rocker Shannon Green announced as newest Pulp Sci-Fi from the Rock author!
Engen Books is proud to reveal one of the true talents in Newfoundland genre fiction will be joining us again in 2020’s Pulp Sci-Fi from the Rock collection: Shannon Green!
A gifted author with a talent for the strange, Green has been recognized in both the genre community and the contemporary literary community for his pursuits. In the past he has been shortlisted for the 1996 Arts and Letters Award and well as won the 2015 Audience Choice Steampunk Newfoundland Showcase.
Green received praise for his short story “The Wine Dark Sea” in Chillers from the Rock, and has also had short fiction published in Fantasy From The Rock, Dystopia from the Rock, Flights from the Rock, The Hamthology, and Jibbernocky.
Through his efforts, Green has proven himself a master of every genre of story we’ve thrown at him, and has earned the affectionate term of Rocker: an author who has been featured in every genre of From the Rock collection.
In Pulp Sci-Fi from the Rock he brings with him his new short story “The Cat’s Meow.”
Seven other authors will be joining Shannon Green, Jennifer Shelby, Jon Dobbin, Melissa Bishop, Brad Dunne, Corinne Lewandowski, JRH Lawless, Lisa Daly, Andrew Pike, Julie Aubut Gaudet, Daniel Windeler, Alissa Hickox, Andrew McDonald, CS Woodburn and Steve Power for the 2020 Pulp Sci-Fi on the Rock collection! We have established authors, award-winners, bestsellers, and returning From the Rock alumni left to announce! Who will join them? Stay tuned and Never Look Back!
For exclusive content and FREE books, be sure and check out the Engen Books Patreon.
February 12, 2020
Jennifer Shelby announced as a Pulp SciFi from the Rock author!
Engen Books is proud to reveal the next Pulp Sci-Fi from the Rock author: Jennifer Shelby!
Jennifer Shelby was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia and currently resides in Hopewell Hill, New Brunswick. She is the author of many works of short fiction, including ‘Borrowed Wings’ for Flights from the Rock, ‘Mrs. Coleman’s Backyard Refugee Camp’ for Andromeda Spaceways, and ‘Toby’s Alicorn Adventure’ for Cricket.
Flights from the Rock
27 short stories celebrating the 100 year anniversary of the first Trans-Atlantic Flight! Stories by wonderful bestselling authors as well as new talent, and edited by Erin Vance, Lisa Daly, and Ellen Curtis!
C$25.00
She won the Kit Sora Award for her tale ‘The Green Lady.’ She won first place in the ‘Writer Unboxed Flog’ competition, as well as the Writers Federation of New Brunswick Fog Lit Books ‘For Young People’.
She brings with her her new story, ‘Parachutes and Grappling Hooks,‘ which wowed the From the Rock editors with its approachable and enjoyable prose.
Eight other authors will be joining Jennifer Shelby, Jon Dobbin, Melissa Bishop, Brad Dunne, Corinne Lewandowski, JRH Lawless, Lisa Daly, Andrew Pike, Julie Aubut Gaudet, Daniel Windeler, Alissa Hickox, Andrew McDonald, CS Woodburn and Steve Power for the 2020 Pulp Sci-Fi on the Rock collection! We have established authors, award-winners, bestsellers, and returning From the Rock alumni left to announce! Who will join them? Stay tuned and Never Look Back!
For exclusive content and FREE books, be sure and check out the Engen Books Patreon.
February 9, 2020
Award-Winning Author Jon Dobbin announced as a ‘Pulp Sci-Fi from the Rock’ author!
Engen Books is proud to announce one of the authors that will be returning in 2020’s Pulp Sci-Fi from the Rock collection: Jon Dobbin!
A native to the St. John’s metro region, Dobbin tied for first place in the 2017 48-Hour Writing Marathon, sponsored by THE Creative Learning, Thrive, and Engen Books. He placed second during the WANL Nightmare on Water Street event in October 2018. He describes himself as “the father of three, the husband to an amazing wife, an educator, and a tattoo and beard enthusiast.”
His first novel, The Starving, was released to rave reviews in May 2019, and constantly sits in the top list of novels in its genre.
“Dobbin’s debut novel is a great one. Predator meets Hell on Wheels. Classic western with a touch of King and Lovecraft… A smashing debut. I am hungry (pun intended) for Dobbin’s next work!”
— BC Laybolt, author of To Drown in Sand
“Take a little Zane Grey. Add a little Penny Dreadful. Read with Sam Elliot’s voice. Discover Jon Dobbin’s masterful The Starving.”
— Darrell Power, Great Big Sea
“Dobbin’s debut full length is a chilling trek through a wintery wild west Colorado. The Starving combines the pulp swagger and splatter of Robert E. Howard with the atmospheric otherworldly chills of Stephen King in a suspenseful, tight read that moves like lightning.“
— Amazon Customer, June 1 2019
Dobbin made his publishing debut in Chillers from the Rock with two entries: Man of Fire and The Chosen. His Flash Fiction was featured in Kit Sora: The Artobiography. Two of his stories were featured in Dystopia from the Rock: Blood Red Horizon and The Other.
Dobbin brings with him his short story ‘On Mission.’
Nine other authors will be joining Jon Dobbin, Melissa Bishop, Brad Dunne, Corinne Lewandowski, JRH Lawless, Lisa Daly, Andrew Pike, Julie Aubut Gaudet, Daniel Windeler, Alissa Hickox, Andrew McDonald, CS Woodburn and Steve Power for the 2020 Pulp Sci-Fi on the Rock collection! We have established authors, award-winners, bestsellers, and returning From the Rock alumni left to announce! Who will join them? Stay tuned and Never Look Back!
For exclusive content and FREE books, be sure and check out the Engen Books Patreon.
